The Award is a global initiative jointly developed by The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and The Tocqueville Foundation, “to highlight projects and initiatives that have triggered innovative activity in the field of philanthropy, seeking out individuals and organisations that inspire others and demonstrate strong impact or potential impact”.

Mr Woodring, whose non-profit association Ocean Recovery Alliance focuses on bringing together new initiatives to help improve the ocean environment, received the award for his years of dedication, focus and persistence on reducing plastic pollution, and by doing so with creative, scalable programs that can be replicated across borders.

According to the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation, it is one of the first NGOs to work with both the UN Environment and the World Bank on their respective programs aimed at reducing plastic pollution.

During the presentation of the award, Prince Albert commented that Mr Woodring founded the Ocean Recovery Alliance with the strong conviction that improving the health of the global ocean require to bring together innovative solutions, technology, collaborations between the public and the private sector, national and multilateral policies.

Mr Woodring said, “We have taken a different, creative, yet realistic approach to solving this issue globally. Our Program bring focus to the issue of plastic in its ‘afterlife’, either through use in a company or institutional setting, or via trash hotspots which need to be cleaned and prevented, via community engagement”.

[caption id="attachment_16831" align="alignnone" width="709"] Photo: DC[/caption]
An accidental spill from a crane’s hydraulic hose on the Portier sea extension site was swiftly dealt with as soon as it was discovered, the Monaco Government said.
The leak of biodegradable oil took place on the afternoon of Thursday, May 18. A dam was set up to contain any pollution, together with the installation of a skimmer inside the dam to pump the spilled oil.
The Directorate of Maritime Affairs was informed immediately and officials visited the site. They asked the operator to supplement pollution control by installing absorbent rods to mop up the traces of oil that had drifted away from the vessel before the dam was installed.
[caption id="attachment_16830" align="alignnone" width="709"] Photo: DC[/caption]
Armelle Roudaut-Lafon, Director of Maritime Affairs, said: "The reaction of the company is to be welcomed. It immediately informed us of the incident, took urgent measures to limit pollution and responded without delay to our request for increased measures.”
On Friday morning, a team from the Maritime Affairs Directorate visited the site and was able to verify that there was no trace of pollution in the water.